Core Viewpoint - The article highlights a significant price increase in the semiconductor industry, particularly in the storage segment, driven by structural changes and rising costs, with companies like Guokewei leading the charge with price hikes of 20% to 80% on various products [2][4]. Group 1: Price Adjustments - Guokewei announced a price increase for its solid-state storage chips, SSD controllers, and related storage modules, with increases ranging from 20% to 80%, effective February 1 [2]. - The highest price increases are seen in enterprise SSDs and high-end DDR products, with some products experiencing an 80% increase [2]. Group 2: Industry Context - The price adjustments are attributed to a structural transformation in the global storage industry, where major players like Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron have shifted over 40% of their advanced DRAM capacity to HBM (High Bandwidth Memory) for AI servers, leading to a significant reduction in supply for consumer and enterprise standard storage chips [4]. - The industry is facing a supply shortage that is expected to last until the end of 2026, with procurement costs for key components like memory, SSDs, and HDDs increasing by 40% to 200% [4]. Group 3: Market Impact - The price surge in the storage market has been widespread, with numerous leading companies, including TI, ADI, and Micron, issuing price increase notices across various sectors, with some rare items seeing price hikes exceeding 100% [5]. - Counterpoint Research indicates that storage market prices have surpassed historical highs from 2018, with expectations of an additional 40% to 50% increase in Q1 2026 and a further 20% increase in Q2 [5]. - The end-user market is already experiencing noticeable effects, with prices for Samsung's 16G DDR5 memory modules soaring from 380 yuan in September 2025 to 1399 yuan in January 2026, marking a 268% increase [5].